CHASING THE LAKHPATI DREAM

Generations of rural Indian women have had their hopes and dreams crushed by the twin hammers of poverty and patriarchy. But now, the Lakhpati Didi scheme has come as an instrument that can help break the shackles. Outlook Money spoke to women across four states to understand how women in India's hinterlands are starting on their entrepreneurial journeys

- Tarun Bharadwaj

Abeda Khatun, 35, from Assam’s Barpeta district, is one of two women selected for the Lakhpati Didi scheme in her gram panchayat. The central government-backed rural livelihood scheme will help Abeda expand her fishery business.

A mother of two, Abeda runs an integrated fishery as well as a cattle and poultry farm with her husband Waris Ali, 46, in Kamalpur, a village located nearly 110 kilometres west of Assam capital Guwahati.

She has applied for ₹10 lakh under the Lakhpati Didi scheme. A final disbursement is being considered and Abeda hopes her request will be granted.

If she gets the money, she will invest a large sum in her fisheries, a venture that is proving more lucrative than her poultry and cattle ventures.

Abeda’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2008, shortly after her marriage when she joined a 15-member self-help group called Rhino SHG.

There she met Momtaz Begum, a ‘jeevika sakhi’. Jeevika sakhis or livelihood friends are volunteers assigned to gram panchayats to promote livelihood schemes under the Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM).

With Momtaz Begum’s help, Abeda obtained ₹15,000 from the SHG and raised chickens and ducks in her backyard. As years passed, her business grew.

In 2014, Abeda applied for a loan of ₹50,000 to start rearing cattle. The venture did well, and she used the money to reinvest and pay off the loan.

Abeda’s family had a pond in which they would rear fish for household use. With money flowing in, she decided to turn the family pond into a commercial venture.

In early 2019, with jeevika sakhi’s help, Abeda obtained a subsidised bank loan of ₹1 lakh to build two fisheries on her farmland.

She already had a pond and built a new one. The fishery venture was an instant success.